Author: bradbirzer

By day, I'm a father of seven and husband of one. By night, I'm an author, a biographer, and a prog rocker. Interests: Rush, progressive rock, cultural criticisms, the Rocky Mountains, individual liberty, history, hiking, and science fiction.

Grammys Shammies. A Meandering Editorial.

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music2 Comments
God bless that Stu guy!
God bless that Stu guy!

Having had a chance to listen to a stream (a review copy from the fine folks B/W/R PR) of the new Steven Wilson, I’m very glad to write that it’s profound and good and true and wonderful.  I wasn’t so taken with the last album (the RAVEN one), though I thought the first two solo albums quite astounding.  And, I pulled out my Chicago DVD show of Porcupine Tree.  Sheesh, when Wilson wants to be, he’s incredible.  The last solo album I thought a poor mimicry of the work of that ever-wonderful genius, Andy Tillison.

This new album pays homage to late 1970s Rush, but it does so in a way that honors Rush.  All to the good.

As the Grammy’s are happening as I write this, I remember how utterly disappointed I was with Wilson a few years ago when he tweeted how sad he was not to have won a Grammy.  I responded in my own tweet: “Dear Lord, you are so much better than that!”  Or something akin to this.

I meant it.

A Grammy is an albatrossian weight, not a mark or a sign of anything other than bland, tapioca conformity on a corporate scale.

Not watching the Grammy’s, I can happily report that I’m listening to the brand new, deluxe version of Galahad’s EMPIRES NEVER LAST.  Let me offer another “sheesh.”  What a great album, made even better through remixing and editing.  Glorious.

Yesterday, my family and I devoured the new Neal Morse, THE GRAND EXPERIMENT.  We are all rather smitten.

Today, I listened to all of Dave Kerzner’s NEW WORLD (deluxe edition) as I made Sunday evening pizza.  Again, I’m a rather happy fan.

I also read Bryan Morey’s insightful review of Mike Kershaw’s latest EP, DEPARTURE, featuring lots of FRACTAL MIRROR talent.  This got me to thinking about Greg Spawton and his ability to form communities–not only around himself immediately in BBT, but also through the internet.  Kershaw, Urbaniak, Kull. . . what a crazy bunch of proggers we all are.  And, that Morey.  He’s a natural.

And, now, I patiently await the arrival of the new Glass Hammer.

I’m sorry–what awards show is going on tonight?  Yeah, I’ve got much better things to listen to, thank you very much.

RochaNews: Gavin Harrison’s New Album

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GAVIN HARRISON RE-IMAGINES PORCUPINE TREE TRACKS ON UPCOMING SOLO ALBUM “CHEATING THE POLYGRAPH” 

“Cheating the Polygraph” out April 14 on Kscope; teaser video posted online

ENGLAND – Gavin Harrison, drummer for British prog innovator, Porcupine Tree, has announced a brand new solo album of re-imagined songs from the acclaimed Porcupine Tree repertoire, Cheating the Polygraph, due out in North America on April 14 via Kscope (April 13 in the UK, April 17 in Germany, April 22 in Japan).

Cheating the Polygraph can be pre-ordered now through the Kscope web-store at: www.kscopemusic.com/store.
A Cheating the Polygraph album trailer can be seen on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJCPiNby-DY and Vimeo at: https://vimeo.com/117829686.

1. What Happens Now?

2. Sound of Muzak (So Called Friend)

3. Start of Something Beautiful

4. Heart Attack in a Lay-By (Creator had a Mastertape / Surfer)

5. Anaesthetize (The Pills I’m Taking)

6. Hatesong-Halo

7. Cheating the Polygraph (Mother & Child Divided)

8. Futile

Gavin Harrison currently finds himself working with British progressive rock group, King Crimson. His playing and performing résumé includes stints with artists as varied as Iggy Pop, Lewis Taylor, Manfred Mann and Kevin Ayers.

Cheating the Polygraph is an ambitious project which sees the restlessly creative Harrison re-imagine eight Porcupine Tree songs in a set of vivid and vibrant new arrangements that give full, free rein to his inquiring musical mind.

The tracks which comprise the album were recorded over a five-year period, with Harrison working in conjunction with a crew of some of the finest contemporary musicians, including the gifted saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock and bass player Laurence Cottle. It’s a set that will no doubt excite much controversy; Harrison’s use of the ‘Big Band’ musical sound stage isn’t some ersatz attempt to make a ‘Swing’ album; it’s closer in execution and arrangement to the innovative works of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention – a layered, richly-textured selection that is both beautifully-recorded and incisively delivered.

“I think every album needs a focus – a master plan – and whilst I thought about writing new tunes for a big band project, I made a version of Porcupine Tree’s ‘Futile’ (with Laurence Cottle) and it came out really well,” commented Harrison. “It felt like a good plan to follow on with some of my personal favorite PT songs and see if we could make them work. I had a vision that the arrangements would never lean towards a clichéd classic big band sound, but always follow a modern contemporary angle. So even if you didn’t know the original tune, you could still enjoy it as a modern composition that would work with this instrumentation. I couldn’t be happier with the results. Laurence Cottle’s immense talent as a musician and arranger was mind blowing.”

No respecter of arbitrary musical pigeonholing, Harrison doesn’t so much ignore genre confines as smash right through them – Harrison states in his thoughtful liner notes: “It’s very important to me to push the boundaries of music whilst respecting what came before. In the arrangements of these pieces we really get ‘out there’ with some of the harmonies and rhythms, and we vastly extended the edges of the original compositions.”

Harrison also drops little musical depth bombs throughout by interpolating shards of melody and musical themes from other Porcupine Tree songs seamlessly into the musical patina of Cheating the Polygraph, which serve to underscore his frontiersman spirit; this is some of the most enthralling, engaging and challenging music you’ll hear in 2015, but there is also wit and charm in abundance here, too.
Stay tuned for more information on Gavin Harrison and Cheating the Polygraph, out this spring on Kscope.

Most Anticipated Album Releases of 2015 – Part 3

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I had only intended to write a couple of quick posts about the best upcoming albums due out during 2015. The only problem is, there are too many potentially strong releases to fit into just two posts, so here’s a third. 2015 really does look like a monster.

Read Part 1 & Part 2 here.

Maschine

A rising star in the UK prog scene, the youngsters came almost out of nowhere in 2013 and wowed me with their impressive debut album, ‘Rubidium’. So much so, I felt compelled to interview them. I loved the blend of technicality, melody and sheer variety, that was occasionally reminiscent of early Pain Of Salvation. Utilising both male and female vocals was a master stroke, providing a relatively unique flavour to an already impressive recipe. To say I’m looking forward to album number two is an understatement.

My Soliloquy

Yet another band that came…

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An Article that Pretty Much Captures Neil Peart

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music6 Comments
Neil Peart: father, drummer, lyricist, motorcyclist, man of letters.
Neil Peart: father, drummer, lyricist, motorcyclist, man of letters.

From yesterday’s major Toronto paper:

The prog-rock trio formed in 1974. To put this longevity in focus: when a 21-year-old Peart drove his mother’s Pinto to Pickering, and nailed his audition with existing band members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Pierre Trudeau was prime minister. Stateside, a scandalized Richard Nixon was about to resign. And Paris was home to the new Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Politicians come and go. Buildings open and close. But one thing that hasn’t changed since that July day more than 40 years ago: Rush is still, first and foremost, a live act. In the same way Corvettes are designed to go fast or the Kardashians were placed on earth to destroy synapses, Rush is all about playing in front of an audience.

“Live shows were always religion for us,” says Peart, sipping his double Macallan. “We never played a show — whether it was in front of 15 people or 15,000 — where it wasn’t everything we had that night.”

Here’s a reissue of it for a smaller paper.

It captures the essence of Peart fairly perfectly . . . at least from what I know and love of the man.

Jerry Ewing’s Mighty PROG: The Real Deal

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music1 Comment
The gift of friendship. . . and PROG!
The gift of friendship. . . and PROG!

As many of you probably know–and, if you live in the United States, you definitely know–when PROG hits the newsstands in the U.S., it is always two full issues behind what is being released in PROG’s home, the U.K.  Barnes and Nobles carries them as does Hastings.  Booksamillion might, too.  I’m not sure.  Hastings, I’ve noticed, gets them a little faster than does B&N.

Regardless, they’re slow in crossing the Atlantic and appearing on our magazine shelves.  In large part, this is simply because the U.S. does not possess the magazine reading culture that the U.K. does.  Not a great comment on the U.S., but true, nonetheless.  Things such as Soap Opera Digest and Us that one finds at grocery store checkouts sell very well, while magazines and journals dealing with news, foreign policy, science fiction, music (except for Rolling Stone), or anything else that is basically not too ephemeral sell poorly.  Such is life.

Editor Jerry Ewing has worked extremely hard–as he does on all things–to make PROG more accessible here in the States.  And, the iPad app created by Jerry and Teamrock is truly a thing of beauty.  I eagerly download my new copy of PROG the moment it hits the newsstands in the U.K.

Just this week, however, a Facebook friend very kindly–though, he’s probably sick of me whining about not getting PROG quickly enough in the U.S.–sent me a copy of PROG 52.  It features Rush, so this was a double blessing and gift for me.  Indeed, I’m thrilled.  On FB, my generous English friend uses the the latinized version of his name, and I don’t want to take advantage of his privacy.  Still, it was a wonderful gift on his part.  Mark, I thank you profoundly.

Within a half hour of receiving and delving into the actual tangible issue, PROG hooked me.  The iPad app is a beautiful thing, and I do read it fully.  But, there is nothing akin to holding the actual issue in my hand.  The size, the quality of paper, the always excellent writing, and rather eye popping graphics of the real, tangible deal are just so much better than anything the iPad can show.

Even more than than the joy of a book being actually held, the magazine–with its spectacular mix of image and word–is a very, very (very!) nice thing.  So, I splurged–purchased a print subscription within a half hour of Mark’s gift arriving in the mail.

Thank you, Mark.  Thank you, Jerry.  I’m sold.

AudioPlastik – In The Head Of A Maniac – Album Review

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00 audioplastik cover

Artist: AudioPlastic

Album Title: In The Mind Of A Maniac

Label: Bad Elephant Music

Year Of Release: 2015

To avoid any lingering confusion right from the outset,  you may already be aware of this band because AudioPlastik began life under a different name or names to be more precise. Both Alpha Flood and Brave New Sky were trialled before the trio settled on the name AudioPlastik. Whatever the name though, it’s a musical collaboration which will more than prick the ears of fans of progressive rock or metal music. The trio is fronted none other than Dec Burke, the vocalist for Darwin’s Radio and Frost* as well as being a well thought of solo artist in his own right. Dec also plays the guitar and is joined by the impressive duo of Simon Andersson (Darkwater, ex-Pain Of Salvation) and Threshold’s keyboardist Richard West. Being a fan of all of the…

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Most Anticipated Album Releases of 2015 – Part 2

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Naturally, as is always the way, there are just far too many anticipated releases during the coming year to fit into one post. Therefore, you’ll be delighted to know that I’ve put this second post together to raise awareness of yet more very important albums that are scheduled to be released during 2015. Based on the content of this and the original Part 1, it really looks like 2015 is shaping up to be an exciting year. I’m sure that there will be several surprises over the course of the coming 12 months, but for now, here are some more exciting prospects for the Man Of Much Metal:

Kingcrow

I recently undertook an interview with Diego Cafolla of Italian prog metal band Kingcrow, simply because I’m a huge fan and I felt that, based on the quality of the music that they play, have been criminally overlooked by large…

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Humor and Rush: Alex Lifeson Reflects on 40 Years

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock music1 Comment
Photo, courtesy of Toronto's Q107.
Photo, courtesy of Toronto’s Q107.

We’ve always spent most of our time together laughing. . . . After sound check, we have dinner together, and it’s just us in the dressing room for about ½ hour or forty minutes. We all catch up on stuff that’s going on day to day or in our lives or whatever. And it’s also a chance for us to have some laughs, and we always do that, every single day that we’re together. We do that. It’s been a very important part of our longevity, for sure.

–Interview with Alex Lifeson, January 26, 2015. Q107/Toronto

The full interview is just under 20 minutes, and it’s a blast.  Well worth your time.  For the full thing, go here.